Ground Zero Cross is Constitutional

For more than a decade, the Ground Zero Cross has stood as a symbol of hope, found rising out of the rubble at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history.

Yet, the American Atheists actually argue in federal court that the mere “existence of the cross” is causing them “depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish.”

The cross exists because it is was what was left of the remains of the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 – two intersecting steel beams found amongst the wreckage and rubble at Ground Zero.

The atheist lawsuit, however, ignores these facts, arguing that the “cross constitutes an unlawful attempt to promote a specific religion on government land.” They state that this piece of 9/11 history “promotes Christianity” and “constitutes discrimination against non-Christians.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Ground Zeros Cross is a part of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s “Historical Exhibition” – one of over 800 artifacts from Ground Zero.

It is, as the 9/11 museum has stated, an “important and essential artifact,” critical to telling the story of what happened at Ground Zero. The Ground Zero Cross became a symbol of hope to so many during the recovery effort in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks and has continued to provide comfort to the families of those affected years later.

As the National September 11 Memorial & Museum correctly argues in its court filings, “there is no legal authority for the proposition that a museum is prohibited from displaying an item with historical, cultural or artistic significance merely because that item also has religious significance.”

In fact, the opposite is true. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the Constitution’s “goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm.”

While the atheists claim that the “cross is grossly and outrageously at variance with the Constitution,” it is their lawsuit that is grossly and outrageously out of touch with reality.

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